The mountain spring shimmered under the moonlight. A hush had settled over the camp, heavy with exhaustion and unspoken thoughts. Even the wind held its breath, as if fearing to disturb what lay beneath the ashes of Blackstone Hill.
Jun Mo Xie stood at the edge of the camp, eyes locked on the direction of the Obsidian Gate. The pulse of its magic had ceased, yet a phantom presence lingered—like the scent of smoke after fire.
Footsteps approached. Mei Yun, ever silent, handed him a cup of tea.
"You didn't sleep," she said.
"Did you?"
"No."
They said nothing for a time. Finally, Jun Mo Xie spoke.
"The visions… they weren't just dreams. They were warnings. Memories, maybe. From a life I never lived."
Mei Yun sipped her tea slowly. "Or a life you're meant to live again."
Behind them, Lan Xue stirred in her bedroll, murmuring in her sleep. Yue Ling sat sharpening her blade by the fire. Fei Yan stood watch from the trees, daggers already drawn.
Something was coming. They all felt it.
---
Far from the camp, deep within the eastern mountains, a fortress carved into the cliffs awoke from centuries of slumber. Its gates groaned as blood-red torches flared to life. Sigils on the stone walls glowed faintly with the energy of long-forgotten spells.
At the heart of the fortress, within a chamber of obsidian and bone, a figure stirred.
He rose from a stone sarcophagus, armor clinking softly. Crimson plates, edged in gold. His face was pale, beautiful, and cruel. His eyes burned like dying stars.
A voice echoed within the chamber.
**"He has returned."**
The man smiled.
"Then so shall I."
---
Back at the camp, the morning sun pierced the mist, casting long, distorted shadows over the ruins. Jun Mo Xie gathered the group.
"We move northeast," he said. "We can't linger here. Whatever we disturbed at the Gate... it's watching."
Lan Xue frowned. "Shouldn't we investigate it further?"
"We will. But not yet. We need answers before we face it again."
Fei Yan nodded. "Agreed. There's a monastery north of here. The monks there keep old records—some from before the last war."
Yue Ling raised an eyebrow. "You trust monks?"
"I trust paper," Fei Yan replied. "It doesn't lie. It just waits to be read."
---
The journey to the monastery took three days. The land grew colder as they ascended. Snow dusted the high paths, and wolves howled in the distance.
Along the way, Jun Mo Xie trained. Every night, he sparred with Mei Yun or Yue Ling. Fei Yan taught him how to detect energy traps. Lan Xue worked quietly to stabilize his meridians.
Slowly, his strength grew. Not in bursts, but steadily—like a forge slowly building flame.
"I've never seen someone learn like you," Lan Xue whispered one night.
"That's because I remember more than I should," he replied.
---
At last, they reached the monastery of Chao Yun. Nestled into the cliffs, its gates were guarded by twin lion statues and robed disciples with wary eyes.
An old monk greeted them. "You seek knowledge, or refuge?"
"Both," Jun Mo Xie said.
The monk led them to a quiet library lit by skylights and scented with age.
They spent two days digging through scrolls. Fei Yan read swiftly, discarding text after text. Mei Yun focused on battle records. Lan Xue looked for prophecy. Yue Ling, surprisingly, located the first breakthrough.
She laid a parchment before the group.
"The Crimson General," she read. "Champion of the Eastern Rebellion. Thought to be dead. Sealed by the last Dragon Sage near the Obsidian Gate."
Jun Mo Xie leaned closer. "Crimson armor… a bone throne… that was who I saw."
Lan Xue turned pale. "He's awake?"
Mei Yun scowled. "He was called the Scourge of Heaven. It took seven sects to put him down. And now he returns?"
Fei Yan looked toward the window. "Then we don't have much time."
---
That night, the storm broke.
A rumble shook the monastery walls. Monks shouted. Lights flared.
Jun Mo Xie ran to the courtyard and froze.
Above the monastery, a red tear had opened in the sky—an arcane rift pulsing with fire. From it descended a single figure, cloaked in storm and silence.
The Crimson General.
He landed without sound, his boots touching snow. The monks fell back in terror.
Jun Mo Xie stepped forward, the rusted sword in hand.
The General tilted his head. "You wear that face again."
Jun Mo Xie's blood ran cold. "You know me?"
"Not yet," the General said. "But I will. And I will break you."
He raised a single hand—and the world screamed.
A wave of energy blasted across the courtyard. Mei Yun countered with a defensive sigil. Fei Yan threw daggers that shattered midair. Lan Xue raised a barrier of light, shielding Yue Ling and several monks.
Jun Mo Xie rushed forward, sword raised.
The General caught the blade with his fingers.
"You are not ready."
He threw Jun Mo Xie back. The courtyard cracked beneath the force.
But the General did not press the attack. He turned and walked calmly to the rift.
"You have one moon," he said. "When the Gate opens fully, the sky will burn. Prepare, little monarch."
And then he vanished.
---
Silence returned.
Jun Mo Xie lay on the ground, blood on his lips. His sword was broken.
Lan Xue ran to him, healing chi flowing. "Stay with me."
"I'm here," he whispered.
Mei Yun helped him sit. "He didn't kill us."
"No," Jun Mo Xie said, "he warned us. That's worse."
Yue Ling narrowed her eyes. "He's playing a long game."
Fei Yan stared into the fading rift. "And so must we."
---
In the aftermath, the monastery agreed to shelter them. Elder monks revealed secret scrolls—fragments of the Dragon Sage's final writings. In them, clues hinted at a lost artifact: the **Celestial Ember**, said to be the only flame capable of scarring the Crimson General's immortal body.
But it was hidden beyond the Shattered Veil—a barrier few dared to cross.
Jun Mo Xie stood before the map.
"We have a month," he said. "To find the Ember. To train. To prepare."
Mei Yun stepped beside him. "Then we begin now."
Lan Xue placed a hand on his arm. "We're with you."
Yue Ling nodded. "To the end."
Fei Yan simply said, "Let's kill a god."
And so beg
an the next chapter of their journey—no longer one of discovery, but of defiance.
For the Crimson General had awakened.
And war was coming.
---
*To be continued...*